Just recently, the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s management decided to do something a bit unusual: they put Rob Font at the front of an unconventional welcoming committee. The reason being? They needed a significant figure to meet former 125-pound champ Deiveson Figueiredo when he steps into the bantamweight division. Their meeting will be a key attraction in the UFC on ESPN 52 event this Saturday, to be held at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.
Font, a member of the New England Cartel, is undeniably an astounding athlete and a consistent Top 10 contender. But lately, he’s been having a bit of a rough patch, having lost three out of his last four fights before heading to the Octagon. His most recent fight was back on August 5, when he was bested in a five-round unanimous decision by Corey Sandhagen, during the UFC on ESPN 50 headline event.
Figueiredo, on the other hand, is eager to make his mark at the 135-pound category following his invigorating four-fight championship series with Brandon Moreno, his top flyweight rival. Sporting a praiseworthy 10-3-1 record in the UFC, Figueiredo is poised for even greater achievements.
As Font and Figueiredo gear up for their big fight in The Lone Star State, there are some fascinating stats worth mulling over. Font is 36, New England born and bred. Among his 20 career victories, nearly half, nine to be precise, were knockouts or technical knockouts. Moreover, Font has landed 1,151 significant strikes in the UFC’s bantamweight division, placing him second on the promotion’s all-time list, and started 66 rounds as a professional mixed martial artist.
Figueiredo, a couple of years younger than Font at 35, hails from Soure, Brazil. His fighting record is equally impressive, with 21 career victories. Eight of these wins have been through submission moves. Among his stand-out showings, one worth mentioning is his quickest finish – a guillotine choke that ended a fight with David Raimundo Arcangela Silva in just 53 seconds. This happened back in March 2014 under the Jurunense Open Fight MMA façade and remains his fastest end to a fight.